Utilization Status of Public Health and Medical Rehabilitation Services by the Persons with Disabilities in Community

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To survey the utilization status of public health and medical rehabilitation services by the persons with disabilities in community. METHOD: The subjects were 118 patients who were admitted to National Rehabilitation Center from January 1998 to December 2001 and agreed with home-visit. The subjects were assessed of disability level with functional scales, utilization rate of public health and medical rehabilitation services, utilization facilities, and service contents. RESULTS: The subjects included 78 pesons with stroke, 20 persons with spinal cord injury, 9 pesons with traumatic brain injury, and 11 persons with other diseases. Only 28.0% of the low-functional group used public health and medical rehabilitation services, showing a low utilization rate than the high-functional group (43.2%). 17 out of 24 persons who used rehabilitation clinics were in the low-functional group and 9 out of 13 persons who used welfare agency were in the high-functional group (p=0.012). In two groups, most frequent utilization out of the service contents was the exercise therapy. CONCLUSION: The utilization rate of public health and medical rehabilitation services in communities was 32.8%. It is necessary to supply the persons with disabilities in community with the rehabilitation service for the continuum of rehabilitation.